Tea and Coffee
by Airway Static
Summary: Daiki's high school crush reappears before him and the inevitable happens. Incidentally, it seems like neither of them have matured at all.


_chai latte_

Café et le Thé was a small establishment, tucked down one of the side streets leading out of the main shopping district. Due to a recent feature by a local magazine it had gained some popularity as "a charming place to relax, boasting a quiet atmosphere different from the bustle a street over". In truth though, it says something about the regulars of Café et le Thé as they barely flinch when the peaceful atmosphere is broken by the manager's shouting.

"Aomine! Get up and man your section." He walks over and lightly kicks the dozing man.

"Wha' th' 'ell?" Daiki mumbles, sitting up and rubbing his shin.

"The rest of us don't have time to check up on you and there's been a customer waiting at table 5 for twenty minutes," the manager tells him crossly.

"Table 5 isn't even—" Daiki begins to retort before stopping himself. When he'd decided he could afford a nap ten minutes ago, there had definitely been "No one..." he mutters before heaving himself up, avoiding his supervisor's conveniently placed foot on the way.

He doesn't bother grabbing a menu as he stalks over to stand before the smaller man sitting at table 5. "I see you helped yourself to a menu," he remarks.

The man looks up and says, "The waiter who usually takes care of this table seemed to be preoccupied."

Daiki can't stay stern. Breaking into a grin, he chuckles and reaches out to lightly punch the man's shoulder. "Tetsu, you asshole. If you're here, tell me!"

"I think your manager has gotten used to me. It took him an hour to notice me the first time I came in," Tetsu remarks.

"Wakamatsu?" Daiki snorts. "If he'd noticed you right away, he would've woken me up sooner. Any excuse to abuse the newest employee," he says, raising his voice slightly on the last part, prompting a, "shut up!" to drift over from the opposite corner. "It was probably Ryou who pointed you out," he continues.

Tetsu makes a noncommittal noise and glances down at the closed menu he'd set on the table.

Noticing the direction of his gaze, Daiki asks him, "What'll it be? The usual?"

Tetsu considers before saying, "No. I think I'll have dian hong."

"Oh?" Daiki raises an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, you also ordered that the first time you came here."

"Since I brought it up," Tetsu tells him. "You still remember that?"

"How could I forget?" Daiki rolls his eyes before starting to tick the reasons off on his fingers. "First some guy appears in my section out of the middle of nowhere and tells me he's been waiting for an hour, then he orders some Chinese tea I didn't even know we kept stocked, then he _corrects_ me about the type of teaware to brew it in and he even asks to pay half price," Daiki recites, grin widening as he goes along.

"You did keep me waiting for an hour," Tetsu inserts.

"And then he turns out to be my classmate from high school," Daiki finishes, nearly bent over in laughter. "You brat."

Tetsu huffs a bit, a slight exhalation of air. "You gave me the discount, didn't you?"

"Well that was because..." Daiki trails off before turning around. "Hold on, lemme go start the water."

Tetsu nods and turns away as Daiki leaves. In the kitchen, he sets out fresh water to boil and stands watching.

_café au lait_

"But you still gave him the discount." Satsuki's voice crackled over the phone; Daiki rolled over in the hope that the other side of his bed would provide a better connection. It didn't.

"It's fine, isn't it? I got Ryou to cover the other half," Daiki told her.

Satsuki sighed. "Remind me to pay him back later," she said. "Honestly, Dai-chan." He could just picture her forehead coming down to rest on her palm as she lay on her own (far more comfortable) bed.

"Look on the bright side," he pointed out, "Aren't I finally giving some of that customer service the boss is always going on about?"

"I'm pretty sure Imayoshi-san also values the relationship between co-workers," Satsuki retorted.

"Ryou doesn't mind!"

"Wakamatsu-san will if he finds out." Before Daiki could push the argument any further, she returned to the original topic. "Dai-chan," she said, the sly edge to her voice immediately putting Daiki on guard, "Are you sure you didn't give him the discount for any other reason?"

"Like what?" he asked warily, already resigned to where the conversation was heading.

"Oh, I don't know," Satsuki said. Through the phone, he could hear the squeak of her mattress as she rolled over. "Maybe because this is the guy you had the most awkward crush on all throughout high school? Because you suddenly ran into him again after two years and after realizing that maybe those feelings didn't _quite_ end after graduating, you panicked like the dork you are?"

"I'm not a dork," Daiki huffed. "And please don't go around assuming a bunch of stuff." _Especially when you're right,_ he added silently.

He went completely ignored as Satsuki asked, "What are you going to do when he comes in again?"

"If. _If_ he comes in again, then I'll just deal with things then. For all we know, him coming in could've been just a one time thing,. A fluke" Daiki said. "Besides, it's not like he'd have a reason to," he continued. "We were in the same class and barely spoke to each other."

"You're rationalizing," Satsuki warned.

"Am I?"

"You are."

Daiki paused. When Satsuki didn't say anything else, he finally asked, "Do you know something I don't?"

"Let's just say I'm in a better position to see things than you," she answered. Before Daiki could ask more, she emitted a small scream before the sounds of things clattering to the floor and the violent squeaking of her mattress drifted through the line. "Sorry, Dai-chan, I forgot to set the timer on the recorder. I'll call you later, okay? Tell me whether Tetsu-kun comes in again!"

The empty sound of the dial tone disappeared after a few seconds as Daiki hung up his own phone, to be replaced by a faint grumbling from his stomach. Quickly forgetting about Satsuki's words, he wandered over towards his small kitchenette.

Despite what he'd said to Satsuki and much to his chagrin, Daiki spent the next few weeks watching the door for a glimpse of pale skin or blue eyes that he'd long since familiarized himself with through distracted staring in math class.

It took him a few weeks more to realise that he really was acting like a lovestruck teenager again, pining after someone he probably wouldn't see for another two years _at least_ and a few more days after that to shake himself out of it.

And just when Daiki felt ready to collect himself from the piles of vaguely teenaged angst that had amassed in the corners of his mind between shifts, a familiar (but only by sight) figure passed through the door. In waltzed Kuroko Tetsuya, who managed to find a seat right in the middle of Daiki's section.

_café miel_

It took Kuroko and his stupid face persisted in showing up irregularly for the next two weeks before Daiki decided fuck it and talked to him. Surprisingly, that very day Kuroko beat him to it.

"When is your shift over?"

"Huh?" Daiki shuffled a few steps closer to the table, sure he had misheard something.

Kuroko shifted in his seat and kept his gaze firmly on the assam tea Daiki had just set in front of him. Daiki considered pretending he hadn't heard anything (maybe he hadn't; he sometimes suspected Satsuki envied his fantasizing power) but after a moment Kuroko moved his eyes to chest-level and his voice was steady when he asked, "Would you like to go somewhere for lunch?"

Around them, the business of the cafe carried on. In the kitchen Wakamatsu dropped a plate, while Ryou rang someone up at the register.

The movement of Kuroko's head drew Daiki's attention. He'd returned to staring at the table. "Is it weird after all? I don't know if you remember but we were in the same class during high school..."

Daiki shook himself out of his daze. "I remember!" _I had the hugest crush on you_. "We can go out," he said. "To lunch, that is. Uh." He glanced at his watch. "I get off at 11. Is that okay?"

"It's fine," Kuroko said, and smiled. Daiki blinked. "I'll wait for you." He turned to his tea and Daiki turned away. He had about half an hour – it would be enough time for him to fix his hair in the bathroom.

They ended up in another café.

"A Greek frappé." Daiki didn't even spare the woman who approached them a glance as he ordered.

"Two of them," Kuroko amended, seated across from him. "And a sandwich, please. Do you care if we split it?" he asked Daiki.

He shook his head and the woman walked away, leaving the two of them to themselves.

"I thought you'd order tea," Daiki said.

Kuroko shrugged. "I don't trust any place that offers assam past midmorning," he said, eyeing the noticeably bright drink on the next table over.

Daiki laughed at that. "You really are a tea person, aren't you?"

Kuroko cracked a small smile as well, fully dispelling the last of the awkwardness. "And you're a coffee person?"

"Of course! Ever since I discovered the wonders of espresso."

"If I recall correctly, Momoi-san used to scold you for skipping morning classes to go buy some."

"I lived off of that shit," Daiki agreed. "You know Satsuki?"

"She did me a small favour in our third year and after that we talked occasionally," Kuroko said.

Daiki 'hmm-ed' and leaned back in his chair. "What do you think about coffee then?"

Abruptly, Kuroko sighed. "A person I used to like," he said, sending a jolt of shock of shock through Daiki's stomach, "Enjoyed coffee but it ended up being too bitter for me." He looked up. "Your mouth will dry out if you leave it open like that."

"Sorry," Daiki muttered, readjusting his expression. "Um..."

"No, I should be the one apologizing. We were having a nice conversation too. It's fine," Kuroko said. "It was just my unrequited love in high school."

By that point, Daiki was so shocked, he barely heard the next question. "What did you say?"

"I said, what about you? How do you feel about tea?"

"It's not bad," Daiki said, trying to keep his tone casual. "I still like coffee more. It has more of a punch!"

Eventually their orders arrived and the conversation turned safely to about high school memories and college plans and coffee and tea. Daiki ended up pushing his available time to the limit and only admitted he'd had another shift after the tenth ignored call from Wakamatsu.

As they were leaving, he called out, "Tetsu."

To his surprise, Kuroko turned back.

"Do you mind if I call you that?"

"You can call me whatever you want. More importantly, are you free next week? I'll treat you to lunch since you indulged me today."

After hitting the "ignore" button for the eleventh time, Daiki looked back at Tetsu and realised he was actually waiting for an answer. "Yeah, sure. But it'll be my treat," he said.

"Alright. I'll see you next week."

_doppio_

"So? Lunch was supposed to be your treat but we seem to just be sitting in your apartment." Tetsu rested his head on the back of Daiki's couch. Reaching past him from behind, Daiki was just barely able to reach the coffee table and grab the cordless phone.  
"Don't tell me you're even going to call for takeout."

"Sorry," Daiki mumbled, acutely aware of the stare at his back. "Since I was late last time, my shitty manager docked my pay."

"Wakamatsu-san?"

"What, you know his name?"

"By now, couldn't I be considered a regular? I don't think there's a problem with me knowing the employees' names."

"Yeah, but..." _I'm the only one who serves you_, Daiki thought.

"I may be small but I do get hungry, you know," Tetsu complained. It seemed that since the start of their pseudo lunch dates a few weeks ago, he'd gotten more relaxed, to the point of casual rudeness that delighted Daiki with the thought of this newfound camaraderie.

"Yeah, yeah," Daiki said. "Hold on, the phone's ringing now. Hello?" As he ordered, he saw Tetsu wander into the kitchen out of the corner of his eye. After he'd hung up, Daiki followed.

Tetsu was examining his espresso machine. "I wondered why you didn't just cook something," he said, "But if you keep buying things like this, it's no wonder you have no money for groceries."

"Excuse you," Daiki retorted, "But that was a Christmas present."

"A girlfriend?"

"What?"

Tetsu turned to face him fully. "Was it from a girlfriend?"

It'd happen sometimes, in their conversations; tense spots that seemed to trip everything up appeared and almost always it was Daiki who was at a loss. "From Satsuki," he answered.

And with that, Tetsu turned away again, snooping through his cabinets, presumably to see if he had any tea leaves hidden amongst the coffee blends. "How long have you two known each other exactly? I remember she mentioned that you grew up together."

Daiki shrugged even though Tetsu wouldn't see it. "You think I remember something like that? She's basically been around forever. Probably will stick around just as long. What's the use in counting out the exact amount?"

"What's the use, indeed?" Tetsu murmured, but he was smiling.

Daiki smirked. "Are you jealous?"

Tetsu hummed lightly. "Maybe. I think it's nice to have someone who knows you that well and still stays close."

"Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult...?" Daiki walked over to lean against the counter, facing Tetsu.

"It was neither," he replied. "Someone's knocking on the door."

So there was. Daiki had been enjoying watching Tetsu try to reach the upper shelves so much that he almost hadn't noticed. Strolling out into the living room, he grabbed his wallet off the stand, assuming that their food had arrived. He'd just barely reached for the handle when the door itself burst inward, nearly slamming him in the face. "What the hell?!"

His shout was muffled by Satsuki's hair as she headbutted him though. "For god's sake, Dai-chan," she said, assuming a scolding stance as she stood in front of his crouched figure, "How long were you planning on making me wait?! It's a good thing I have my own key. Anyway, what happened to lunch? You said you'd meet me at the restaurant two hours ago!"

"What...?" Clutching his nose, Daiki looked up, only to be met with Satsuki's fierce glare. Flinching, he covered his ears in preparation for more yelling; Satsuki didn't seem to care.

"Don't tell me you forgot! Honestly, you're twenty-one, aren't you? Isn't it time you learned how to take care of yourself? Isn't that why you broke up with your last boyfriend?"

Daiki stood up. "Satsuki, shut up—"

"'I can't stand the clingy type,' you said. 'I need someone more independent,' you said. That's rich, coming from someone who can't even remember plans we made a week ago!"

"Satsuki," Daiki hissed, frantically motioning for her to lower her voice at least.

"What? What are you doing?" she finally asked. "You know, I'm not really that mad..." She trailed off, eyes on the kitchen entrance.

Daiki looked back and, as expected, there was Tetsu peeking out.

Satsuki mouth formed a small 'o' as red flooded her cheeks. "T-Tetsu-kun," she half-shouted.

Tetsu inclined his head. "It's nice to see you," he said politely.

"Yeah, nice to see you too. S-Sorry, Tetsu-kun! I didn't realise you two had plans. I guess Dai-chan forgot to let me know." She gave a half-hearted chuckle. Fumbling for the door handle behind her, she shot an apologetic look at Daiki before excusing herself as quick as she could. Daiki watched the closing of the door with the same sense of finality as a noose tightening around his neck.

Tetsu's footsteps sounded on the wooden floor. They stopped directly behind him before he felt the warm weight of Tetsu's back leaning on his. Just that gave him the courage to speak. "Satsuki's pretty loud, isn't she?"

"I'm sure she was hurt you forgot about her."

"Did you hear what she said?"

"About your ex-boyfriend?"

Daiki hesitated. He tried to gauge Tetsu's thoughts from his voice but it was no use. Finally, he answered around the lump in his throat. "Yeah."

"Are you gay?"

"I've dated girls too," Daiki told him.

"Well, it's fine either way. If it's guys, even I've jerked off to one or two."

"What?!" Daiki whirled around so fast that Tetsu ended up on the floor, staring up at him.

Tetsu raised an eyebrow. "I don't see how that's a problem."

Daiki released a long sigh he hadn't realised he'd been keeping. Chuckling a bit, he said, "Well, yeah."

Tetsu smiled and Daiki couldn't seem to stop laughing.

"What are you doing here?" Despite seeing each other the day before, Tetsu stood in front of Daiki. He made to show Tetsu to a table but was motioned still.

"I won't be staying," Tetsu told him. "I just figured I should stop by so you didn't start getting insecure and panicky after what we talked about yesterday."

"Oh." Daiki grimaced. "Do you still think it's necessary?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should've waited a bit to see how you were acting earlier."

Daiki rolled his eyes. "Please. Didn't you say you weren't staying? Get out." He moved closer, ready to push Tetsu out of the doorway if he needed to.

"One more thing before I go," Tetsu said, holding up a hand.

"What?"

Tetsu reached out and grabbed a fistful of Daiki's shirt. Before he could complain about wrinkle's in his work's uniform, Daiki's words were cut off as he practically fell forward and Tetsu kissed him.

_eiskaffee_

Tetsu tasted sweet, not like tea at all. More like honey.

(Unlike anything Daiki might have imagined at all.)

When he pulled Daiki toward him, time slowed down to the point when their lips met and at the same time sped up _way too fucking fast_.

Before he knew it, Tetsu had stepped back. leaving him frozen in position, bent over and hand half raised, fingers twitching just a bit, still trying to decide (too late) whether he wanted to hold Tetsu or not.

The small flash of pink as his tongue ran over his lips had Daiki feeling faint.

_black tea_

Daiki didn't see Tetsu for two months after that.

"And he just left? He didn't say anything at all?" Satsuki eyed him skeptically.

"Not a word," Daiki groaned, face buried in his arms. "He just turned around and walked out the door!"

"And he hasn't called you since?"

"I haven't even managed to reach the fucking _voicemail_ on his phone," Daiki said. Satsuki 'mm-ed' sympathetically; the gentle feeling of her fingers combing through his hair almost lulled Daiki to sleep so he sat up straight once again.

"And you haven't heard anything from him either?!" Daiki demanded.

"For the hundredth time, if I'd been able to get through I would've told you ages ago, Dai-chan."

Daiki sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"But, he kissed you!" Satsuki smiled. "Isn't that something?"

"No, it isn't," Daiki denied. "It isn't anything unless I see him again. What did that kiss even mean?! That he was okay with me liking guys?"

"I wonder," Satsuki said, and this time it sounded like she knew the answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, have you considered the possibility that Tetsu-kun—!"

Daiki dove for his phone, nearly knocking the empty cup on the table to the ground. He flipped it open on the second ring. "Hello? Huh?"

Satsuki got up and took the coffee cup away, leaving Daiki a semblance of privacy, although he knew from personal experience that she could hear him from the kitchen. He didn't mind, too focused on what Wakamatsu was saying.

"And he asked specifically for me?" Daiki just had to make absolutely sure. "What did he look like? Blue hair? Did it match his eyes?" And finally, "Is he short?"

It wasn't like Satsuki could hear Wakamatsu speaking but she should have been able to guess the answer as Daiki rushed towards the door. He assumed that was why she let him leave without complaint. (Or she hadn't noticed that the cup hadn't _actually_ been empty.)

When Daiki entered the café, he automatically looked toward his section but it was packed, probably because Susa was working today. Daiki could see why, since it wasn't that he was bad-looking, it was just his personality he couldn't deal with. The only person who could get a reaction out of him was Imayoshi, although that guy could get a reaction out of anyone.

Instead, it was Ryou who lead him to his own section, to a table that looked unoccupied from a distance. Daiki approached, trying to figure out what expression to make. "Tetsu?"

The man sitting at the table looked up. "Long time no see," he said.

"It really has been a while." Daiki glared. "What are you doing here?"

Unperturbed, Tetsu replied, "Well, since my finals are finally over, I wanted to take a break as soon as possible."

"...Huh?"

"Finals," Tetsu repeated. "Are over. So I wanted to visit. Is there a problem?"

Daiki barely had time to pull out a chair before his knees gave out. "So, what? You're saying you've been taking tests all this time?"

"I've been studying for them," Tetsu corrected. "I understand it may sound like a novel experience to you, but it's become my habit."

"So even your voicemail...?"

"I shut it off." Tetsu sipped his tea.

"Isn't that dangerous?!"

"If people really needed to reach me, they'd send a letter."

"Isn't that too slow...?"

"I was kidding. Are you still mad?"

Daiki sighed. When had he started smiling? "I'm not mad, I guess. But still! If it was something like that, tell me beforehand."

"I also thought it might be better to give you some space," Tetsu said. At Daiki's confused look, he continued, "If I showed up too soon after kissing you, I thought you'd start feeling cagey and pressured."

Once again, Tetsu had managed to charge the atmosphere with that strange tension unique to their interactions. It was always him being thrown off-balance, always him who fumbled for something to say. Abruptly, Daiki felt like he was being jerked around. He inhaled, as much to gather his courage as for time to consider his words. In the end, he went with what first came to mind.

"Tetsu, why did you kiss me?"

It seemed being direct had worked; for once; Tetsu visibly hesitated. Before Daiki could appreciate the rare occasion, he quickly composed himself and answered, "It's because I wanted to kiss you."

"Why?" Daiki continued to press him for an answer despite the fraying of his own nerves.

"Because," Daiki leaned forward as Tetsu lowered his voice. "I wanted to see if you would kiss back."

It almost felt like his heart would hammer its way up his throat. It took Daiki two tries to work his way around it. "I think I should tell you that I've been pining after you since high school."

In response, Tetsu said, "I think I should tell you that the 'small favor' Momoi-san did for me was keeping quiet about me taking a picture of you sleeping one day."

"You what?"

"You stared at me in math class."

"How did you know about that?"

"She also may have shared that."

They stared at each other. "So..." Daiki trailed off.

"So."

"Are we...?"

"I suppose."

Daiki chuckled. "Alright."

_chai latte (reprise)_

"Here." Daiki places the tea in front of Tetsu and takes a seat across from him. Wakamatsu would kill him if he found out, but it's not like there are any customers around to complain.

"Thank you," Tetsu says, bringing the cup to his lips and taking a sip.

"So, how is it?"

"I think you should practice your brewing."

Daiki rolls his eyes. "Don't you give me enough of an excuse to practice already?"

"Apparently not." Tetsu smiles and leans forward. "Do you want some special lessons?"

"That depends." Daiki smirks and leans forward as well. "Are they at your place?" He and Tetsu are nose to nose.

It's Tetsu who closes the gap between them. When they separate, he pulls away fully, leaning back in his seat and reaching for his tea again. "Of course," he says. "You only have coffee at yours."


End file.
